1. Field of the Invention
The present inventive concept relates to a casino table game, and more particularly, to a variation of casino craps which includes a new wager.
2. Description of the Related Art
Although games involving dice are extremely popular in non-gaming environments, only craps has been successful in a gaming environment. The game of craps is offered in nearly all casinos. Craps involves two six sided dice which are rolled two or more times by a designated player (the “shooter”). The fundamental bet in craps is known as the “pass” bet. The pass line bet is lost on a first roll (“come out”) of 2, 3, or 12. Each pass bet wagerer is paid even money on a come out roll of 7 or 11. In either case, the pass bet is resolved and a new wager must begin. Should the shooter's come out roll be a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, that number is identified as the “point.” Thereafter, the shooter continues to roll the dice until the point is repeated or a seven is rolled, whichever occurs first. If the point is repeated (“making the point”), each pass wagerer is paid even money on their pass bets and a new game begins with the same shooter. If a seven is rolled (“seven-out”) prior to making the point, each pass bet wagerer loses their pass bet and the shooter must relinquish the dice to another participant. Craps also includes a host of additional wager opportunities related to each roll of the dice. For example, players may wager that any number will be rolled on a subsequent roll, bet that the value of each die will match (i.e snake eyes), and so on.
In craps, a “hard way” or “hard” number is one of 4, 6, 8, or 10, rolled with both dice showing the same number. The dice show a hard 4 if each die displays a 2. The dice show a hard 6 if each die displays a 3. The dice show a hard 8 if each die displays a 4. The dice show a hard 10 if each die displays a 5.
Also in craps, a “proposition” bet is any of the rolls displayed in the center of the casino craps layout, usually with high payouts and correspondingly high house advantages. Examples of proposition bets include a single-roll bet on the number 12, the single-roll “Any-7” bet, and the single-roll “Any Craps” bet. In addition, there are four “hard way” wagers based on the proposition that the shooter will roll a given hard number before either the non-hard version of that number or a seven appears.
Several other dice games have been attempted in casinos, but without great, or even moderate, success. One such game is known as “Chuck-a-Luck.” Chuck-a-Luck is a game involving a single roll of three six sided dice having associated payouts related to one, two, or three of the dice faces showing a selected number from one to six. Another dice game is known as “Under and Over 7. ” Under and Over 7 allows players to wager whether the sum of two dice will be less than, more than or equal to seven.
Casino craps is the only significantly successful casino dice game. The game of craps is exciting, but traditionally has payouts only as high as 31-1. Moreover, the wagers that pay the highest multiples also tend to have the worst odds for the player.
A side wager for craps known as the Fire Bet (U.S. Pat. No. 6,655,689) has payouts as high as 2500-1, although that wager has up to a 20% house advantage. Furthermore, based on the rules, one Fire Bet can be made per shooter. Since each shooter rolls an average of 8.5 rolls before relinquishing the dice, many fewer Fire Bets can be made per hour, thereby decreasing the casino's revenue potential when compared to other, more frequently-made wagers.
Therefore, what is needed, is a craps wager that overcomes the limitations in the prior art by providing a wager for casino craps with a high payout, a fast rate of resolution, and a reasonable house advantage.